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Category: Business

Venture Hunt LI was originally intended to methodically and efficiently connect serious investors with the best early stage business opportunities on Long Island.

At the same time that I was developing Venture Hunt Long Island, the NYC startup community was growing rapidly and becoming more open in both entrepreneur development and funding (co-working spaces, accelerators, skill development, pitch nights, etc.) which were are all just a train ride away. In addition, amazing startup resources and market places like Angel List made the location of your startup, less relevant for “access”.

Taking all this in, it was clear that Long Island didn’t need a local deal flow machine, because quite simply, most early stage ventures (regardless of location) haven’t earned a seat at the funding table (even some that get it). Whether it is because of not finding market fit, not enough traction, inexperienced founders or any other number of reasons that could tank a business regardless of the amount of money it raised. With that in mind, I transitioned Venture Hunt LI to be a collection of helpful notes for LI entrepreneurs to take their startup to the next level by leveraging resources unique to Long Island, nearby NYC and those that are location agnostic. All the posts have since moved to this blog after winding down VentureHuntLI.com.

There are still many organizations out there trying to foster a healthy startup community on Long Island (some good, some bad, but mostly ugly). Many of which seem to be failing under their own weight and complexity. Their funding comes from government, academic or other “sponsors” that have overt but mostly covert strings attached and usually end up just paying for staff that attend each others functions, events filled with service providers (who doesn’t need 10 patent attorneys?) and real estate (which is LI’s true economy) that end up as gilded tombs. I give points for trying, but not for the execution thus far. Maybe in a denser population of founders all this activity on its own could ignite something, but I’m not seeing sparks. I would even go a far as saying there are more people involved in running entrepreneur programs for Long Island then there are entrepreneurs with real startups on Long Island.

Recently (2014) my fellow startup friends and I decided to take a different approach based on the premise that all anyone really needs is a bit of guidance to get to the next level in their business (from idea to testing the market, from testing to traction with an MVP, from initial traction to funding and beyond).

To “make it” on Long Island or anywhere else for that matter you need tenacity AND coach-ability. If you’re looking for similar founders come on down and the first drink is on me 🙂

My friends and I have a few other things in the works for the LI startup community, but unlike everyone else, we prefer to have substance before a press release, so I’ll keep you posted when the time is right.

Typically professional investors submit the Term Sheet and associated documents to the entrepreneur. These documents are already preconfigured to the investor’s or investment institution’s preferred terms and the negotiation begins.

That’s the sexy version of getting your first cash infusion, however many times your first investment is from friends and family. In these cases, both parties are equally green on the key documents needed to make a straightforward and legitimate investment in your company.

Series Seed was created and curated by Ted Wang, a partner at Fenwick & West in the interest of saving both time and money for startup during their most vulnerable stage for financing. In addition these documents are being continuously honed by the investment and startup communities to keep them current and equal handed.

This is still no substitute for legal review, which should only amount to a few billable hours if you are staying within the confines of the documents.

Accelerate Long Island’s mission is to foster a unique collaboration among Long Island’s world class research institutions and its business community to commercialize research and create an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

I’ve had the pleasure to attend both Accelerate LI events as well as spend some time with Mark and his team and their actions speak louder than my praise could. In a short amount of (for Long Island) time, they have connected with the Lords of all the local fiefdoms and is actively fostering not just communication but a sense of common purpose.

Aside from the less tangible progress, Accelerate LI has architected 3 core programs to further move the needle for entrepreneurs, inventors, scientists and those looking to support their growth here on the island.

Accelerate Funding

Accelerate Long Island has a $500,000 Seed Fund that invests up to $50,000 in early stage high technology startup companies in the form of grants. The Accelerate Long Island Seed Fund co-invests with the $750,000 Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund (LIETF), which was created by three venture capitalists and typically invests up to $50,000 in early stage startups.

Accelerate Funding is also working closely with the Long Island Angel Network and other early stage funding sources to provide one-stop-shopping for startups companies seeking capital.

Accelerate Assist

Accelerate Assist is a free mentorship program for early stage high-tech startup companies.

Accelerate Assist kicks off with a brainstorming session with a team of entrepreneurs-in-residence. The startup company is then paired with an entrepreneur-in-residence and develops a set of milestones for the over a three to sixth month period. Completion of the Accelerate Assist program may result in an opportunity to pitch to the Accelerate Long Island Seed Fund or connections with other early stage funding sources.

Typical coaching topics include:

Developing or refining the market for the technology.

Determining the pain in the market and determining the best economic model for the company.

Navigating intellectual property issues.

Polishing the pitch for funding.

Assistance with company formation and management.

Accelerate Ecosystem

Long Island’s startup scene is blossoming – and Accelerate Long Island is supporting entrepreneurs and building’s Long Island entrepreneurial ecosystem. Accelerate Long Island’s networking and instructional events are part of the ecosystem. (editor’s note – this the collection of events Accelerate hosts for various groups that make up the Long Island startup ecosystem)

The countdown for accepting applications for LaunchPad LI’s Summer 2013 Accelerator Program has begun. Applications are now being accepted thru May 17, 2013. We will review and select applicants to come in for interviews on a rolling basis. We will notify all accepted applicants by the end of May. The Summer 2013 Class will begin on June 3rd and launch with a Summer Blast Off Party!

The Long Island Angel Network is the most well known forum of angel investors on Long Island. Members can evaluate andexchange information about investment opportunities, primarily in technology- and innovation-focused early-stage and emerging growth companies in the $500,000 – $2 million range.

LI Angel Network screeners endeavors to select companies for presentation that they judge likely to be of the greatest interest to members, but the Network does not make investment recommendations; investors’ decisions are made individually.

If you are an entrepreneur interested in presenting to the LIAN you can submit your application (via gust.com)and if they feel you are a fit you will be selected to pitch at their frequent “pitch nights”. You can also just attend pitch nights so what they are all about and better understand the caliber of firms you are competing with for the angels attention.

As discussed before, CrunchBase is one of the top tools for garnering insight on your startup competition as well as who is funding them. Wikisway has taken advantage of CruchBase’s API to visually map the relationships that make up their database.

Aside from the data eye candy, Wikisway gives you real insight into what “Connectors” and “Mavens” ala Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point you should be jacked in to. Here is an example of TechStars on Wikisway.

Wikisway has also worked their visual magic for your personal Facebook network and is setting their sites on LinkedIn next.

In summary, Wikisway is a great tool in unearthing fruitful relationships and it looks like it will keep getting better.

Also meet local tech companies in Huntington that are part of the iDA’s Boost Program including Jeff Leventhal from Work Market, Ryan Thompson from CooCoo and George Kafkarkou from VLI North America.

The first hour is open to venture capitalists, IDA clients and start-ups formed in the last 5 years in Technology, Bio/Life Science, Energy, Green, Product Development and High Tech Manufacturing. The second hour starting at 7pm is open to the general business community. There is no charge to attend this event.

Coming by rail? Bolt Bus is having a free shuttle from Huntington train station for a 5:40pm pick up to the Paramount. Let us know if you plan to use the free shuttle.

For those working too hard or too late to make it to your local coffee shop, Coffitivity may be just the trick to keep the creative juices flowing.

Coffitivity.com is a virtual environment provider centered around a recent academic study that determined different spaces have specific properties to improve and enhance creative cognition. Theses great creative work environments typically have a volume of about 70 decibels of constant ambient sound. The best example of such a place: a coffee shop.

The brain child of co-founders Andrew Hazen and Richard Foster, LaunchPad Long Island is a 12,000 sq foot co-working space with an emerging business accelerator in Mineola, Long Island.

LaunchPad LI has cracked one of the biggest obstacles that has suffocated many Long Island entrepreneurial endeavors in the past… accessibility. By having their own parking lot, adjacent municipal parking and Mineola train station at their doorstep, LaunchPad LI and their tenants have the unique ability to efficiently draw talent out of Brooklyn, Queens and NYC as well as local residents.

Co-working

Judging from my walk through during the launch party, Andrew, Richard and Brian set out from the start to ensure all public and private spaces were designed to be equally fun and functional. The modern (read: brand spanking new) environment has wood floors, glass desks, leather chairs & couches and all the amenities needed to make the long days and late nights a little less taxing. Aside from the main benefits of peer support and collaboration that make co-working so desirable, LaunchPad Long Island also includes:

The second floor of LaunchPad LI has thirteen (13) brand new furnished Executive office suites for 1 – 6 people.

24/7 Access

95% of suites have windows (Amen!!!)

Receptionist services

No long term commitments

High Speed WiFi

Flex Space & “Writable” Idea/Strategy Walls

Conference rooms with large TVs

Free coffee & water

Copy/Print/Scan services

On-site parking

Business Accelerator

Unfortunately, at the time of this post, details are still a bit sketchy on the business accelerator side of things. There seems to be a seed fund of $250K with up to $25k being allocated to each team accepted to the program.

Based on what they are seeking in applicants, it looks intentionally vague, which is natural for the first class of a new accelerator, but what concerns me more, is the lack of program, such as class start/end dates, demo days, equity structure to the accelerator (if any), and other typical accelerator parameters.

Regardless, I recommend any Long Island based early stage entrepreneur check it out. Just do your homework on other top accelerators like Tech Stars and Y Combinator to best understand how LaunchPad LI stacks up to their peers.

And There’s More…

There are also a handful of other programs and services that look like they will be coming into their own in due time. Here are a few of them…

Speaker Series

30 Under 30

Movie Night

LaunchPad Cadets

In summary, Long Island now has a true hub for entrepreneurial talent that is easily accessible both geographically and financially. Andrew, Richard and their team have accomplished something very special, now it’s time to get involved to ensure it flourishes.